tyke
1 Americannoun
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a child, especially a small boy.
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any small child.
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a cur; mongrel.
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Chiefly Scot. a low, contemptible fellow; boor.
noun
noun
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a dog, esp a mongrel
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informal a small or cheeky child: used esp in affectionate reproof
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dialect a rough ill-mannered person
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Also called: Yorkshire tyke. slang a person from Yorkshire
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slang a Roman Catholic
Etymology
Origin of tyke1
1350–1400; Middle English < Old Norse tīk bitch
Origin of tyke2
1940–45; compare Ulster English Taig contemptuous term for a Roman Catholic Irishman, archaic English teague derogatory name for an Irishman < Irish Tadhg a common personal name
Explanation
A tyke is a child, especially a small one. A nursery school is full of tykes. Little kids are a handful, as all parents and teachers know. Maybe that's why there are some slangy words for them, such as rugrat and tyke. Tyke is a very informal word: a letter from the principal wouldn't call a kid a tyke. However, an uncle or friend of the family might say, "How are you tykes doing?" This word is a little old-fashioned, but it's still used.
Vocabulary lists containing tyke
My Brother Sam is Dead
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Gathering Blue
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Full of Beans
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The adventure-seeking tyke immediately turned and took a step toward the outfield before his pops quickly gathered him for some photos.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025
I fell in love with Air Jordans back when I was a tyke.
From Salon • May 13, 2022
Maple Leaf-based historian Peter Blecha, though just a tyke at the time, was “there” to revel in it.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2021
The Little Dutch Boy He discovered a leak from a hole in the dike, Which he plugged single-handed, though only a tyke.
From Washington Post • May 13, 2021
Like a limber animal the tyke scrambled from chair to tabletop, and from the tabletop she climbed to the top of the chest.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
